Journal box packing



y 4, 1951 R. J. HARKENRIDER 2,991,135

JOURNAL BOX PACKING Filed March 10, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1961 R. J.HARKENRIDER 2,991,135

JOURNAL BOX PACKING Filed March 10, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I! n'7IIIIIIIIll/111111111/1/11III/II!IIIIIll/I1[III/1111111111111!!!I!11/111.

yuu.mu. wmmu /02 55a INVENTOR.

July 4, R J HARKENRID ER JOURNAL BOX PACKING Filed March 10, 1958 3Sheets-Sheet 3 J 40 INVENTOR United States Patent My invention relatesto a journal box packing for railroad car journal boxes, and moreparticularly, to a journal box packing package of the type employing alubricating envelope or blanket of capillary material that is pressedagainst the journal by a resilient non-metallic core structure formedfrom lubricant impervious and resisting rubber-like material.

My copending' application Serial No. 672,507, filed July 17, 1957, thedisclosure of which is hereby specifically incorporated by reference,discloses a packing package of the above type in which a' piledlubricating blanket is integrated with a foamed resilient body byfoaming the material forming the body such as a polyurethrene foam,directly in place on or within the blanket material. The intimatecontact between the foamed material and the blanket material, amoungother things, insures that all capillany fibers of the blanket arefirmly anchored in place. The foamed material also catches much of theexcess oil that drips or is thrown from the journal and retains itclosely adjacent to the applicator surface of the blanket forreapplication to the journal, which has been found to materiallyincrease the film of oil that is applied to the journal.

The present application relates to improved lubricators employing myfoaming in place principle as well as to an improved form of pile forthe lubricating blanket.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a low cost highlyintegrated packing package having maximum capillary feedcharacteristics.

A further principal object of my invention is to provide a-piledapplicator surface for lubricators which includes several pile levelswhereby a lower pile level may be relied on to provide the capillaryaction required after an upper pile level has become ineffective for onereason or another as a result of long usage.

Further objects of .the invention are to improve on the lubricatingcharacteristics of lubricators in general, to provide an improvedcapillary feed material, to improve and simplify the design of corestructures employed in journal box packings, and to provide a journalbox packing that is generally economical of manufacture, efiicient inuse and capable of being installed without jacking the box. 7

Other objects, uses and advantages will be obvious or become apparentfrom a consideration of the following detailed description and theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings: 7 g

FIGURE 1 is a transverse cross-sectional view through familiar parts ofa railway car journal and journal box,

showing same equipped with oneembodiment of my present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the lubricator shown in FIGURE 1; j

FIGURE 3 is a fragmental diagrammatic sectional view illustrating theimproved blanket material that forms a part of the lubricator shown in[FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 3 illustrating amodification of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the inserts that are em-. ployed in theembodiment of the invention shown in'FIG- URE 1; T

FIGURE 6 is adiagramlmatic perspective of the inserts shown in FIGUREFIGURE 7 is a diagrammaticplan' view view of one of a capillary 72,991,135 Patented July 4, 1961 2 blanket employed in accordance withthe principles of my invention;

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic perspective view along line 88 of FIGURE 2,on an enlarged scale and illustrating the concave configuration of theends of the core structures forming a part of my invention;

FIGURE 9 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional View along line 9--9 ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 3 illustratinga furthermodified form of capillary blanket material; I

FIGURE 11 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating how the applicatorsurface of my improved capillary blankets appear on close inspection; f

FIGURE 12 is an end elevational view of a waste blanket type lubricatorarranged inaccordance with principles of my invention;

FIGURE 13 is a fragmental cross-sectional view on an enlarged scaleillustrating the intimate contact between the waste fibers and foam coreof the embodiment shown in FIGURE 12; 1

FIGURE 14 is an end elevational view, partially in section, illustratinga modified form of insert for the core structures herein disclosed;

FIGURE 15 is an end elevational view illustrating a further simplifiedform of journal box packing;

FIGURE 16 is a plan view of a device for aiding in the application ofthe foam material to the blanket material of the lubricator, showing thelubricator of FIG- URE 15 in position in the device;

General description Reference numeral 12 of FIGURE 1 generally indicatesone embodiment of my invention, which is shown in place between thelower portion of a conventional axle journal 11 and the bottom 13 of aconventional journal box 10, in what is commonly referred to as the oilor lubricant cellar of the journal box.

The packing 12 generally comprises a pair of attached laminatedlubricating or capillary blankets or envelopes 14 integrally unitedrespectively with core structures 20. The combination blanket and corestructure on each side of the packing forms the packing into a twin lobestructure, the lobes being designated 25.

The blankets 14 each have the general configuration in plan indicated inFIGURE 7 before they are looped to bring opposed edges 26 together forapplication of stitching 28 that is diagrammatically indicated inFIGURE 1. Prior to the application of stitching 28, a pair of blanketsare stitched together along the area 30 in the manner de scribed in mysaid copending application.

The purpose of the general configuration of the blankets 14 and themanner of stitching them to provide the configurations illustrated inFIGURE 1 and FIG- URE 2, is fully disclosed in my copending applicationSerial No. 601,011, filed July 30, 1956, nowpPatent No. 2,927,828,granted March 8, 1960, the disclosure of which is hereby specificallyincorporated by reference.

After the blankets :14- have been secured together an the stitching 28applied to form subassembly 31, the subassembly may be mounted in adevice, such as the mold structure 32 that is diagrammaticallyillustrated in FIG- URE 16, for application of the core structurethereto. The mold structure 32, which is illustrated only for purposesof suggesting a feasible manner of assembly, in-

ly low pile loops.

cludes spaced center posts 34 and end posts 36 that are generallycomplementary to the twin lobe outline of the blanket subassembly, andhold the subassembly in an upright'position. The mold assembly 32 alsoincludes two pair'of caps 40 (see FIGURE 18 wherein one pair of caps isillustrated), one pair of which is placed under the blanket subassemblyand the other pair which is retained for use after the core structurehas been applied. The caps '40 that are placed at the bottom of theblanket subassembly should have their rounded surfaces 42 facingupwardly, and all the caps should be proportioned to be received withinthe rims of the looped blankets.

In'accordancewith my invention, the space that is encircled by the twoblankets 14 of the subassembly is then charged with the foam material 45that comprises the core structure of the twin lobes, the foam materialbeing foamed within the cavities formed by the looped blankets and theblanketsacting as molds for casting the core structures. FIGURE 15illustrates the finished product ofvthe' most simplified embodiment ofthe invention,

which calls for the application of foam material without inserts to theblankets to form a solid foam core.

The'components of the foam material, which may be, for instance, apolyurethrene foam, are mixed and poured within the two looped blanketsafter which the top two caps 40 are applied, with their convex surfacesfacing downwardly, to close off the upper ends of the blanket assembly.After the foaming period has finished, the

completed lubricator is removed from the mold structure 32 and the endcaps separated therefrom. The result is the embodiment of the inventionshown in FIGURE 15, the end' caps 40 providing at both ends of thelubricator the concave end configuration shown in FIGURE 8.

Design considerations have revealed instances where it is desirable tocomplement the resiliency of the foam material that forms the corestructure of the embodiment of FIGURE 15 with a springy insert that isformed from non-porous material to quicken the lubricators recoveryafter compression. Reference numerals 50 and 52 in the drawings (seeFIGURES 1, 12 and 14) indicate several specific forms of inserts thatmay be employed, they being suspended within the blankets 14 in anysuitable mam nor as the foam material is applied to the latter.Preferably,'the foam material covers the ends of the inserts and closesthem off, as indicated in FIGURE 8.

The structural arrangements of my improved blankets themselves are alsoof considerable significance. In the embodiments of FIGURES 3, 4, 10 and11, the blanket material is provided with a piled surface that hasseveral pile levels. High lift capillary strands 55 are interwoven, asby a standard type of tufting machine, through the base of the blanketmaterial in such a manner as to form loops 56 and 58. Strands 55 extendtransversely of the journal as indicated in FIGURE 7 and some of thestrands 55a are formed into relatively long loops 56 while others of thestrands 55b are formed into relatively short loops 58. The relationshipbetween the long and short loops is also indicated in FIGURE 7 whereinthedarkened lines indicate rows of relatively long loops 56, the areasoutlined by the darkened lines comprising the applicator surfaces 59 ofthe lubricating blanket. In the illustrated embodiments, only thestrands 55a form the relatively long loops, while the strands 55b formonly the short loops, strands 55a forming short loops in their lengthsintermediate, and on either side, of applicator surfaces 59.

The relatively long and short loops are in practice closely spaced andprovide relatively high and relativeface of'the blanket. The low loopsform a low pile level which insures adequate lubrication after thelonger loops have become severed or otherwise inoperative after'extendedservice. By forrning' the low loops only with strands 5 5lz, capillaryfeed to these loops is assured even 4 V after the high loops have becomesevered during use, which forms breaks in the feed paths of strands 55a.

The high and low loops in effect provide a double life Wearing surfacefor the lubricator, and in addition, give a quality of bulk andresilience to the applicator surfaces of the blanket material thatmaterially lengthens its useful life;

The core structures The foam material employed in the illustrated corestructures is preferably of the open cell type, such as polyester foams,polyether foams, and castor oil foams. These substances fall into thecategory of the so-called urethrene or'polyurethrene foams, made by, forinstance, Mobay Chemical Company of St. Louis, Missouri. Oil resistantlatex foams, such as Hycar foam rubber 1552, made by B. F. GoodrichCompany of Akron, Ohio, or vinyl foams will also serve the purpose.

The basic ingredients of, for instance, the polyurethrene foams, whichare preferred, are diisocyanates and polyols. These are chain extendedby reacting with a small amount of water. During the series of reactionsinvolved, carbon dioxide gas is liberated. If the original viscosity ofthe polyol is favorable, and if the chain extension increases theviscosity at an appropriate rate, this carbon dioxide gas is trapped inthe gel structure just as it is in the rising batter of a cake, wherebya multitude of open cells is formed throughout the mixture. If suitablecatalysts have been employed, the resulting foam cures to a stable,solid state. A formula for one type of foam material would be 70-75parts of polyether glycol, 25-30 parts Hylene organic diisocyanate, 2-3par-ts water, 0.5l part wetting agent (such as silicone SF-96 made byGeneral Electric Company), and 1 part catalyst, such as mortholine.

The terms foam rubber or rubber like materials or foam rubber likematerial as used in this specification and accompanying claims meansthese foam materials as well as all others having the desiredcharacteristics.

As already mentioned, the ingredients making up the foam materialemployed are mixed in a conventional manner and then poured into thecavities for-med by looped blankets 14. This may be done in any suitablemanner, the mold arrangement of FIGURES 16 and 17 illustrating aconvenient way of accomplishing the foaming in place for a small scaleoperation.

As a result of the foaming in place process, the foam rubber orrubber-like material adheres directly to the fibers and strands of theblankets 14. This highly integrates the core structure with the blanketmaterial of the lubricator and makes the lubricator a closely knit andunitary packing package.

Where it is desired to employ inserts in the core structure, the foammaterial is poured around them after they have been suitably suspendedwithin the looped blankets. Preferably, the inserts and the foam thatsurrounds them are proportioned so that the ends of the inserts arecovered by the foam as indicated in'FIGURE 8. This precludes thelubricating oil from flowing through the tubes of the inserts when thelubricator is in service in the journal box, which eliminates onepossible cause of oil leakage at the rear of the box.

FIGURE 8 also brings out the important relationship between theconcavely rounded ends of the foam core structure and the edges 60 ofthe blanket material. This relationship is provided so that when thelobes of the lubricator are placed under compression, the core structuredoes not bulge outwardly of the blanket edges 60, inward folds onlybeing possible in the arrangement shown in FIGURE 8. As indicated, thefoam material extends just short of the edge of the blanket material,preferably a spacing of approximately A; inch existing between the outeredge of the core material and the extreme edge 60 of the blanket.

The concave ends 6; of the core structures thus eliminate one of theprincipal disadvantages of conventional pad type lubricators. Theseconventional lubricators employ a core structure such as a sponge or thelike, which tends to bulge outwardly of the lubricator when compressed;tln's means that the distended portions of the lubricator wipe againstthe fillet and flange of the journal,

which results in a rapid deterioration of the lubricator.

The core structure inserts indicated at 50 are a product that is similarto the core structure described in my Patent No. 2,801,138, granted July30, 1957. The inserts 50 are best illustrated in FIGURES 1, 5 and 6, andcomprise a stack of like parallel tubes in which each tube 64 has wallportions 66 in common with other tubes 64 and integral with them at theadjoining corners 67. "The inserts are conveniently made by extrudingthem in one piece, whereby the. cellular structure is entirely integraland the distribution of material'makes it possible to have an extremelylight, springy element which has a strong resistance to deforming underpressure and a high recovery upon release, even after being compressedfor a long time under adverse temperature conditions.

Inserts corresponding to those indicated at 50 can be made in a varietyof forms. Almost any polygonal form can be thus extruded whetherregular, irregular, rightangular or otherwise. Circular forms are alsocontemplated. I

The configuration of inserts 50 is the equilateral hexagon type, andthis is preferred because it lends itself so readily to making productsof this type, and it has a structure that is'particularly adapted foruse as a resilient core member for lubricators.

The inserts herein illustrated may be produced in accordance with theinvention described in my application Serial No. 418,442, filed March24, 1954, now Patent No. 2,908,037, granted October 13, 1959, thedisclosure of which is specifically incorporated herein by thisreference. The material used is an oil resistant, rubber-like material,such as Hycar, a product of said B. F. Goodrich Comany.

p Preferably the inserts 50 are each provided with laterally extendingwings or tabs 68. As indicated in FIGURE 1, these wings or tabs extendinto the foam material and provide a greater surface area to which thefoam material may adhere. The Wings or tabs 68 may be scalloped as at 70(see FIGURE 6) to further increase the gripping action of the foammaterial on the inserts.

The inserts 52 illustrated in FIGURE 14 are illustrative of other typesof inserts that may be made in the same manner that is described aboveand substituted for inserts 50. Inserts 52 comprise a single when thatextends longitudinally of the lubricator and which is provided with aplurality of laterally extending Wings or tabs 74 that are embedded inthe foam material. Tabs or wings 74 may be perforated as indicated at 76to increase the bond between the foam material and the insert, or saidtabs or wings may be scalloped in the manner indicated in FIGURE 6. Ialso contemplate that tabs 68 of FIGURE 6 may be formed withperforations such as perforations 76 instead of scallops 70.

The wings or tabs 74a and 74b of the embodiment of FIGURE 14 divide thefoam material into an upper section '80 and'a lower section 82. When thelubricator of FIGURE 14 is employed in the manner indicated in FIG- URE1, the upper body of foam 80 is substantially cut off from the lowerbody of foam 82 in each core structure of the lubricator. Duringrotation of the journal, the lubricating oil will tend to saturate theupper body 80, thus maintaining a larger quantity of. oil adjacent theapplicator surface of the .lubricator. The upwardly extending wings ortabs 74 also trap oil within the foam material and prevent itfrom-draining through the foam material back tothe bottom of the journalbox.

The blanket material a The multi-pile level blanket material may beprovided in several different embodiments.

In the embodiment 14a of FIGURE 3, the strands 55 are passed through twolayers of press cloth 90, the foam material 45 bonding directly to'thelower layer and extending upwardly through the mesh of the lower layerinto contact with the upper layer 90, the strands 55 being embedded inthe foam at the bases of loops 56 and 58. In the modified embodiment 14bof FIGURE 4, a foam insert 92 is employed between a lower sisal meshlayer 94 (the latter providing increased tensile strength), and an upperpress cloth layer 96, the yarns 55 passing through the foam insert 92 aswell as the woven fabrics indicated at 94 and 96. The foam insert, whichmay be on the. order of inch to Mr inch in thickness, is made from oneof the foam materials specified above and is preferably equal in lengthto the applicator surfaces outlined by the dark lines of FIGURE 7,though it may be coextensive with the entire blanket if so desired. Itmay either be a separate piece of foam material that is mere 1y appliedbetween fabric layers 94 and 96 before strands 55 are applied thereto,or it may be foamed in place on one of the layers 94 or 96 before thetufting operation is performed.

The blanket material 14b is employed in the same manner as blanketmaterial 14a, the foam insert 92. catching much of the oil that drips oris thrown from the journal. The strands 55 being embedded in the insertby the tufting operation, the oil that they lift from the oil reservoiris supplemented by that collecting in the insert, which insures amaterially increased feed to the journal with a corresponding increasein oil film on the journal during normal operating conditions.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 10, the strands 55 pass through -a lowerlayer 94 of sisal mesh and-an upper layer 96 of press cloth, and theundersurface of the blanket material is coated with an appropriateadhesive 98, such as Hycar latex No. 1552, type OR-25, made frompetroleum by B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company, of Akron, Ohio, andthickened with a 12 percent ammonium casein solution. The adhesive 98may comprise many appropriate materials, any of which are known asrubber base cements. They may be used in powder form, sheet form orliquid. A number of suitable synthetic rubbers are described inMaterials Handbook by Brady, 1944, McGraw-Hill, page 523.

The surface to which the adhesive 98 is applied is the undersurface ofthe blanket, and the adhesive fastens all threads that go to theunderside of the blanket including the threads of yarns 55. It securelyunites the yarns 55, the press cloth 96 and the sis-a1 fabric 94together to provide a stabilized and uniform lubricating blanketmaterial.

The strands 55 are preferably of the four-ply type, three of the pliesbeing formed of cotton fibers and the fourth ply being a uniform blendof 50 percent wool and 50 percent nylon. As indicated in FIGURE 11, thestrands 55 may be spaced from each other by two warp threads 102, theloops 56 and 58 being formed over alternate woof threads 104. Asindicated above, in accordance with my invention, only strands 55a formthe relatively long loops while the strands 55b form only relativelyshort loops, this relationship being further illustrated in FIGURE 11,and being employed in all the illustrated blanket materials. Moreover,each strand 55 forms a row of loops in which the loops are disposedconsecutively transversely of the journal (see FIGURES 7 and 11).

A further important feature of the invention is that the combination ofthe transversely extending rows of high and low loops formed by adjacentstrands-55 form channels between the high loops, into which excesslubricant that drips or is thrown off the journal drains and is conveyedback to thejournal along the top of the lubricatorgas indicated by theproportioning of lobes 25 illustrated in FIGURE 1.' The samejcliannelsare present along the underside of the lubricator, and thus facilitatethe return of oil to bottom of theoil reservoir. These channelsareindicated at 105 in FIGURES 8 and 11. Of course, this drainage of thelubricant brings it into intimate contactwith loops 56 and 58, whichmaterially adds to the oil that they apply to the journal.

The press cloth and sisal fabrics above described are preferably formedto have maximum high capillary lift characteristics. i

In the embodiment of FIGURES 12 and 13, a blanket material 14d of thetype described in my Patent No. 2,762,667 is employed as modified in themanner described in mysaid copending application Serial No. 601,-

011] The blanket material 110 comprises a relatively thick layer ofcarded waste 112 interlaced with a pair of woven carrier cloths 114 inthe form of open weave laundry bag-cloth (in the embodiment of FIGURE12), and a relatively thin layer of waste 116. The cloths 114 arepreferably woven from strands or yarns made up of capillary actionmaterial such as Vicara, cotton or a mixture of both.

In accordance with the description of said Patents No. 2,762,667, andNo. 2,801,138, the three layers are thoroughly fastened together bypassing them through a hooking machine of the type, for instance,illustrated in Patent No. 2,672,673, granted March 23, 1954. The thinnerwaste layer 116 may be formed entirely by booking threads through thefabric 114, or it can be in part formed by feeding a thin layer ofcarded waste under the carrier cloth before reaching the hooking machineor in a supplementary or preliminary hooking machine.

The blanket material 110 is given the general outline illustrated inFIGURE 7 and a pair of the blankets are secured together in the mannerdescribed in my said copending application Serial No. 601,011. The corestructures 20 herein described are then applied in the same manner thatis described above, the foam material adhering directly to the fibers ofwaste layer 116 as well as under carrier layer 114. The foam alsoadheres to the fibers of the upper or larger waste layer 112 that arepulled down through the layers 114 where indicated at 118. The foammaterial thus acts to hold all components of the waste blanket material110 securely together.

The blanket material employed in the embodiments of FIGURES 14 and 15may be any of the types described above. And all of the lubricatorsillustrated may be provided with appropriate handles for aiding inremoving them from the box.

Advantages of the invention A number of the important advantages of theinvention have already been brought out. However, it may be mentionedthat the important center feed principle described in my said copendingapplications Serial Nos. 601,011 and 672,507 is retained, which, coupledwith the multi-level pile arrangement, insures an increased oil film onthe journal during operation. These features of the invention, togetherwith the oil catching function of the foam material employed, alsoinsure adequate lubrication with a reduced supply of oil in the box.

The-tufted high lift strands eliminate undesirable loose ends, and eachloop formed by the strands is securely anchored to the blanket by thefoam material or the adhesive of FIGURE 10.

The general configuration of the packing 12 and the reasons thereforhave been described in several of my said copending applications. Asseen in FIGURE 2, the

notches or indentations 150 of the rear edges 152 of the blankets 14combine to provide a re-entrant angle or notch or indentation 154 in therear of the lubricator, which forms a drain port outwardly of the rearfillet of the journal and permits the excess oil accumulating betweenthe-two lubricating lobes during operation of the journal to drain backto the oil reservoir of the box. The notch 154'a1so permits the rearfillet of the journal to be positioned between the lobe ends 156 of thelubricator without contacting and deforming the packing to form a sortof pitcher spout that acts to pour excess oil out of the rear of thejournal box. Ends 156 act as stops that contact the rear end of thejournal box as the packing is slipped into place.

The outwardly extending side edges 158 of the lubricator have a peakedor tent-like configuration (see FIGURE 1) that forms shelf or ledgemeans which tends to catch a good portion of the surplus oil that dripsfrom the'journal during operation, thereby further saturating the areaof each blanket 14 at the juncture of the respective blankets and thejournal surface. This provides for a further increase in the film of oilthat is applied to the journal.

The semi-circular notches or cut-out portion 160 on the side edges ofthe packing not only aid in making the packing more flexible, but alsopermit installation in bolted boxes having internal bosses; thesecut-out portions not only permit the packing to clear these bosses, butalso help to prevent it from shifting toward the front of the box, sincethe cut-out portions will be received about the bosses.

It will be observed that the package 12 in all its embodiments issubstantially symmetrical, and that when it is desirable to present anew surface against the journal, the packing may be removed, turnedover, and reinserted; thus used surface of the blankets will be facingdownwardly in the journal box and the hitherto unused surface of theblankets will be in contact with the journal. The package 12 is thus atwo-sided or reversible one with corresponding increase in useful life.Moreover, by positioning the edges of the blankets at the sides of thepacking, capillary action is just as good regardless of which side ofthe lubricator is in contact with the journal.

The core structures being positioned well within the front and rearedges of the packing and having concave end surfaces (see FIGURE 8),they will not bulge outwardly of the packing when same is compressed.This eliminates the possibility of damage to the lubricator due tocontact with parts of the rotation journal.

The foam material employed for the foam bodies or layers of my inventionshould have a number of characteristics. First of all, the foam materialshould have a low compression set, in the range of five to ten'percent(compression set is, the set that the foam material takes under astandard set of conditions). A further important characteristic is thatthe foam material should be resistant to car journal lubricating oilsfor a minimum period of six to eight years. The foam material shouldalso be resistant to temperatures approximating 250, degrees F.(preferably 300 degrees F.) and should be of a type that will retain ahigh degree of flexibility at sub-zero temperatures. As mentioned above,the open cell characteristic is of prime importance as it is the opencells that catch the lubricant.

The foam material should also have a relatively good tensile strength,at least several times that of natural rubber foams. The materialselected should have a deflection curve roughly approaching that ofrubber foams and in addition the foams should have good adhesivequalities.

I have found that the polyether type foams with a density of two to fourpounds per cubic foot seem to possess the most suitable combination ofproperties for journal lubricator application.

The lubricating pads herein disclosed may be renovated for reuse afterlong periods of service by adaptation of standard waste washingmachines.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my saidcopending'application Serial No. 672,507, filed July 17, 1957.

Parenthetically, it should be understood that the illus- 9 trations ofFIGURES 2, 3, 10, 11 and 13 are largely diagrammatic in nature, theillustrated loops and fibers in practice being spaced much more closelytogether.

The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explainand illustrate my invention and the invention is not limited thereto,except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, since thoseskilled in the at who have my disclosure before them will be able tomake modifications andvariations therein without departing from thescope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a lubricator for a railroad car journal of the type in which thefloor of the box serves as an oil reservoir and oil is lifted by thelubricator to the undersurface of a car axle journal that extends intothe box, said lubricator comprising a resilient core structure adaptedto be compressed and inserted in an operative position in the boxbetween the axle journal and the floor of the box, and a blanketintegrated with said core structure and adapted to be interposed betweensaid core structure and the journal when the lubricator is in operativeposition in the box and resiliently urged against the journal by saidcore structure and with at least a part of the blanket extending intothe oil reservoir when the lubricator is in operative position in thebox, said blanket comprising a fabric sheet through which a plurality ofcontinuous generally parallel strands of capillary material have beeninterlaced, said strands being oriented to extend transversely of thejournal when the lubricator is in operative position in the box, saidstrands being formed into a multitude of loops in the area of theblanket that is adapted to contact the journal when the lubricator is inoperative position in the box to provide a piled oil applicator surface,said loops projecting outwardly of said surface, and at least some ofsaid strands forming only relatively long loops, and the remainder ofsaid strands forming only relatively short loops, said remainder strandsbeing interposed between said some strands whereby said applicatorsurface is made up of relatively high and relatively low pile levelshaving independent oil feeds when the lubricator is in operativeposition in the box.

2. For use on an axle journal supported within a journal box having anoil cellar at the bottom thereof, a lubricator adapted to be inserted inthe box between the journal and the bottom of the box, and includingside edges that are respectively adapted to be positioned adjacent therespective sides of the box when the lubricator is placed in operativeposition in the box, said lubricator comprising twin lobes adapted toextend longitudinally of the journal when the lubricator is in operativeposition in the box and each lobe defining an upper applicator surfaceadapted to be placed in contact with the journal when the lubricator isin operative position in the box, each of said lobes includingcontinuous strands of capillary material adapted to feed oil to therespective applicator surfaces, and resilient means for urging theapplicator surfaces into contact with the journal when the lubricator isin operative position in the box, said strands of each lobe beingoriented to extend from said applicator surface thereof to substantiallythe bottom of the oil cellar along substantially the center line of thebox when the lubricator is in operative position in the box, saidstrands being further oriented to extend generally transversely of thejournal when the lubricator is in operative position in the box andforming across said surfaces, respectively, a multitude of pile formingloops, at least some of said strands forming relatively long loops thatare disposed in rows that extend transversely of the journal when thelubricator is in operative position in the box, and the remainder ofsaid strands forming only relatively short loops that are disposed inrows that extend transversely of the journal when the lubricator is inoperative position in the box, whereby said surface of each lobe is madeup of relatively high and relatively low pile levels.

3. The lubricator set forth in claim 2 wherein alternate strands formthe said short and long loops, respectively, said rows of short and longloops forming oil receiving channels that extend transversely of thejournal when the lubricator is in operative position in the box.

4. In a lubricating pad including an applicator surface for applyinglubricant to a journal, said pad comprising a pair of woven fabricsheets through which a plurality of generally parallel strands have beeninterlaced to form a multitude of pile forming loops, and a sheet ofresilient material interposed between said fabric sheets, said sheet ofresilient material being formed from open celled lubricant resistingfoam rubber-like material.

5. In a lubricator for a railroad car journal box of the type in whichthe floor of the box serves as an oil reservoir and oil is lifted by thelubricator to the undersurface of an axle journal that extends into thebox, said lubricator comprising a resilient body adapted to becompressed and inserted in an operative position in the box between theaxle journal and the floor of the box, said body including a multitudeof continuous capillary strands disposed in parallel relationship andoriented to extend transversely of the journal between the oil in theoil reservoir of the box and an applicator surface of the body that isplaced in contact with the journal when the lubricator is in itsoperative position in the box, said strands in the area of saidapplicator surface being formed into a multitude of loops projectingoutwardly of said applicator surface to define a pile across saidapplicator surface, some of said strands forming only relatively longloops in said surface and others of said strands forming only relativelyshort loops in said surface, said some and said others of said strandsbeing intermingled across the applicator sur-face, whereby saidapplicator surface comprises a multilevel pile arrangement in which theseparate oil levels have independent pile feeds.

6. The lubricator set forth in claim 5 wherein said strands areincorporated in a sheet-like structure, and wherein the undersurface ofsaid sheet-like structure includes means for making said loopsindividually fast thereto.

7. In a lubricator pad including an applicator surface for applyinglubricant to a journal when the pad is in operative relation to thejournal, said pad comprising a fabric blanket structure looped to definea pocket that is oriented to extend longitudinally of the journal whenthe pad is in operative relation to the journal, said pocket terminatingin forward and rearward ends disposed respectively in substantiallyparallel planes extending transversely of said pocket, and a body offoam rubber-like material received in and substantially filling saidpocket and adhering directly to said blanket structure about said pocketand along the length thereof, said body of foam rubber-like materialcomprising a multitude of open cells with those cells adhering to saidblanket structure forming direct lubricant feed paths between said bodyof foam rubber-like material and said blanket structure respectively,said body of foam rubber-like material thereby being in intimatelubricant transmitting contact with said blanket structure, said body offoam rubberlike material being concavely formed at said ends of saidpocket and terminating short of said ends.

8. The pad set forth in claim 7 wherein a tubular insert is embedded insaid body, said insert extending longitudinally of said pocket andcomprising a flexible springy tubular member formed from non-porouslubricant impervious material.

9. The pad set forth in claim 8 wherein said insert includes a pluralityof tabs that extend laterally thereof into said material forming saidbody.

10. The pad set forth in claim 8 wherein the ends of said insert arecovered by said material forming said body.

11. The pad set forth in claim 9 wherein said tabs are 11 recessed toincrease the bond between said insert and 2,715,921 said material.2,807,803 2,814,600 References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 366162 91,000 Devlan June 8, 1869 5611091 2,007,078Orabtree July 2, 1935 2,264,250 Shoemaker Nov. 25, 1941 2,317,595 FarisApr. 27, 1943 10 2,319,073 McElhaney May 11, 1943 2,480,004 DildilianAug. 23, 1949 upon.

12 V Smiley Aug. 23, 1955 Rockwell Sept. 24, 195-7 Mitchell Nov. 26,1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Dec. 30, 1922 Germany Oct. 10, 1932 OTHERREFERENCES Foamed Polyurethanes, published in British Plastics, January1956, pages 5 to 9, inclusive and 39 are relied UNITED STATES PATENT.OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CGRRECTION Patent N0. 2,991,135 I July 4, 1961Robert J. Harkenrider It is hereby certified that error appears in theabove numbered patent requiring correction and that the said LettersPatent should read as corrected below.

Column 6, line 43, for "many" read any same line for jany" read many 3column lO, line 36, for "oil" read pile same line for "pile" read oilSigned and sealed this 10th day of April 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:' ERNEST w SWlDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting OfficerCommissioner of Patents

